Safety shield for a rear loading refuse vehicle

ABSTRACT

A tailgate for a rear loading refuse vehicle having a safety shield to prevent operators from being injured by the mechanism which moves refuse from the tailgate into the vehicle body. The tailgate has a rear opening through which operators dump refuse from containers into the hopper bottom of the tailgate. A heavy sill forms the bottom horizontal edge of the opening. A packer blade is power driven through a path which moves its lower edge downwardly across the opening passing close to the sill and into the hopper and then forwardly to move refuse out of the hopper into the body. A safety shield supported on the packer blade and actuated by motion multiplying linkage, connected in part to the packer blade, is moved to close the rear opening before the packer blade moves across the opening. This prevents an operator from inserting his hand or arm into the opening while the packer blade is moving across the opening and past the sill. The linkage or parts of it also actuates a container dumping mechanism when connected.

United States Patent [191 Herpich et al.

[ SAFETY SHIELD FOR A REAR LOADING REFUSE VEHICLE [75] Inventors: William A. lllerpich, Galion; Francis H. Pittenger, Shelby; John A. Keller, Bucyrus, all of Ohio [73] Assignee: Peabody Galion Corporation,

Galion, Ohio 22 Filed: Dec. 29, 1972 211 App1.No.:3l9,513

Primary Examiner-Albert J. Makay Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Henry K. Leonard Mar. 26, 1974 [57] ABSTRACT A tailgate for a rear loading refuse vehicle having a safety shield to prevent operators from being injured by the mechanism which moves refuse from the tailgate into the vehicle body. The tailgate has a rear opening through which operators dump refuse from containers into the hopper bottom of the tailgate. A heavy sill forms the bottom horizontal edge of the opening. A packer blade is power driven through a path which moves its lower edge downwardly across the opening passing close to the sill and into the hopper and then forwardly to move refuse out of the hopper into the body. A safety shield supported on the packer blade and actuated by motion multiplying linkage, connected in part to the packer blade, is moved to close the rear opening before the packer blade moves across the opening. This prevents an operator from inserting his hand or arm into the opening while the packer blade is moving across the opening and past the sill. The linkage or parts of it also actuates a container dumping mechanism when connected.

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Ii I! Q Elli-1U- 1 SAFETY SHIELD FOR A REAR LOADING REFUSE VEHICLE BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION Many municipal refuse departments and contract rea hopper-likebottom, a rear opening through which operators empty refuse cans or through which large containers are dumped into the hopper and a packer blade which is actuated to cycle within the tailgate for scooping the refuse out of the hopper and forcing it forwardly into the body of the vehicle. The packer blade actuatingrnechanism usually is hydraulic and exerts great force in order to partially compact the refuse against the forward wall of the hopper bottom, to force it into the body and to compactit to as great a degree as possible, thereby to provide forloading a greater volume of refuse into a vehicle of certain size.

The bottom edge of the loading opening in such a vehicle usually is a horizontally extending sill fabricated from relatively strong material in order to brace the open end of the bodyand also in order to form a ledge against which containers can be laid when they are being emptied. The sill must be at a low enough level so that an operator readily can lift a refuse can in order to empty it into the hopper.

In order for the packer blade to sweep the refuse out of the hopper, it must move downwardly across the loading opening and enter the rear part of the hopper packer blade has been actuated. If his hand or arm is extending into the hopper when the packer .blade moves downwardly across the loading opening and past the sill, it results in serious injury to the operator. In-

door is closed and the contents of the container cannot be emptied into the hopper unless the safety door is open.

' It is, therefore, the principal object of the instant invention to provide a safety shield for the loading opening of the tailgate of a rear loading refuse vehicle which will automatically close the loading opening prior to the arrival of the packer blade in dangerous position and will keep it closed to prevent the ingress of an operators hand or arm during the critical period when the packer blade is moving downwardly across the loading opening and past the hopper sill.

It is yet another object of the instant invention to provide a relatively simple linkage automatically actuated by the movement of the packer blade itself in its cycle backwardly over the refuse and downwardly and upwardly through the hopper so that the safety shield will be elevated above refuse in the hopper during the backward movement of the packer blade and lowered downwardly behind the packer blade when the packer blade moves downwardly across the loading opening into the hopper.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide a safety shield and its actuating mechanism which need not be disabled when it is desired to empty large containers by utilizing the packer blade operating deed, complete severance of a hand or forearm has occurred under such conditions.

Various types of safety doors have been suggested. For examples, s steel door has been provided on some such loaders which must be moved downwardly across the loading opening'prior to the time when the packer blade can be actuated. Safety switcheshave been installed to prevent the actuation of the packer blade unless the safety door is closed. This type of an arrangement has a drawback, however, in that it interferes with emptying large containers into the hopper and it requires that the operator actually move the door downwardly before the packer blade can cycle. Operators often disablesuch safety features so that they do not have to close the'door before actuating the packer blade. In addition, when the packer blade actuating mechanism is used as a source of power for tilting mas sive containers of too great size and weight to be tipped by the operators themselves, the safety door interferes with the emptying of the container because the packer blade mechanism cannot be actuated unless the safety mechanism, so that the tendency of operators of vehicles of this kind to deactivate the safety features will be eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS .FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in side elevation with parts broken away and parts shown in phantom, illustrating a safety shield embodying the instant invention in a tailgate and also showing how a heavy container may be positioned for emptying into the tailgate;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but. illustrating the mechanism in a different position and showing how such a large container is tilted upwardly and emptied into such a tailgate without interference with or by the safety shield;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, but illustrating, particularly, how the safety shield is positioned behind the packer blade and across the loading opening during the time when the packer blade moves downwardly across the loading opening and past the hopper sill;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating the position of the packer blade and safety shield at the instance when the packer blade passes the hopper sill and showing how the safety shield prevents the ingress of an operators hand or arm between the two and thus prevents injury to an operators hand or arm;

FIG. 5 is a rear view in elevation with parts broken away, taken from, the position indicated by the line 5,--5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detailed view illustrating one form of safety shield which may be employed in the apparatus disclosed in FIGS. 1-5 inclusive;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 and illustrating yet another type of safety shield;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 6 and 7 showing yet another modification in the construction of the safety shield;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view in side elevation similar to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 and illustrating a modified form of apparatus accordinto the invention; and

FIG. is a view similar to FIG. 5, but taken from the position indicated by the line 1010 in FIG. 9.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT General Tailgate Description A refuse vehicle body generally indicated by the reference number 20, has a tailgate 21 which is pivotally mounted by heavy ears 22 at the upper rear corner of the body of the vehicle and may be swung upwardly out of the way by hydraulic cylinders 23 when it is desired to open the rear of the body 20 for the ejection of refuse therefrom.

The tailgate 21 has a bottom hopper 24 extending across between its side walls 25. The hopper 24 is formed by a rear curved portion 26 extending downwardly and forwardly from a sill 27 which defines the lower edge of a loading opening generally indicated by the reference number 28. A forwardly extending hopper portion 29 leads upwardly from the front of the rear portion 26 and blends into an apron 30 at the floor of the body 20 when the tailgate 21 is in its closed position.

A packer blade 31 extends transversely across the tailgate 21, the side edges of its face extending into close adjacency to the side walls 25. The packer blade 31 has a reinforced lower edge 32, a curved face 33, and an upper end 34. The upper end is carried by a pair of slide blocks 35 which travel in inclined parallel guide tracks 36 (FIG. 2), each of the guide tracks 36 being located on or in the respective one of the side walls 25. The upper end 34 of the packer blade 31 is pivotally connected to the slide blocks 35 by heavy trunnions 37 extending horizontally out of the upper corners of the packer blade 31. The slide blocks 35 are reciprocated in the guide tracks 36 by power cylinders 38 mounted on the outer sides of the tailgate 31 in alignment with the guide tracks 36. When the cylinders 38 extend their rods 39 (FIG. 2) the slide blocks 35 are moved to the upper limit of their travel in the guide tracks 36 and when the cylinders 38 retract their rods 39, the slide blocks 35 are moved to the lower limit of their travel in the guide tracks 36 (FIG. 3).

A generally rectangular, traveling fall back shield 40 is connected to the upper sides of the slide blocks 35 and extends across the tailgate 21, its edges extending into the guide tracks 36 for reciprocation with the slide blocks 35. The fall back shield 40 prevents refuse already packed into the body 20 from falling back over the upper end 34 of the packer blade 31.

A second pair of hydraulic cylinders 41 is located interiorly of the tailgate 21, the upper end of each of the hydraulic cylinders 41 being pivotally mounted in the upper rear corner of the tailgate 21 by a heavy pivot pin 42 (FIG. 5) or similar means. The lower ends of rods 43 of the cylinders 41 are pivotally connected to the back of the packer blade 31 intermediate its end and at the outer sides (FIG. 5) by heavy trunnions 44. Extension and retraction of the rods 43 pivots the packer blade 31 around its upper end trunnions 37 both to move the packer blade lower edge 32 backwardly over refuse accumulated in the hopper 24 and to move it forwardly through the hopper 24 for removing refuse from the hopper 24 and packing it into the body 20.

By properly cycling the application of power to the two sets of cylinders 38 and 41, the lower edge 32 of the packer blade 31 is moved through a closed fourportion path leading from its forward or closed position (shown in solid lines in FIG. 2), indicated by the Letter A", backwardly and upwardly to position 13" (shown in dotted lines in FIGS. 2 and 3) then slightly downwardly and backwardly to position C" (shown in solid lines in FIG' 3). Subsequent energization of the cylinders 41 moves the lower edge 32 of the packer blade 31 downwardly from position C across the loading opening 28 and past the edge of the sill as indicated by the letter D" (shown in solid lines in FIG. 4). Continued extension of the rods 43 moves the lower edge 32 of the packer blade 31 downwardly in an arcuate path adjacent the rear portion 26 of the hopper 24 to the position indicated by the letter E (shown in broken lines in FIG. 4) at the apex" of the hopper 24. Subsequent extension of the rods 39 of the main power cylinders 38 then moves the packer blade 31 from position E" upwardly and forwardly with its lower edge 32 following the forward curved portion 29 of the hopper 24 and the curved apron 30 to return the packer blade to its traveling position A (solid lines FIG. 2).

Generally similar tailgate constructions are shown in various U.S. Patents such as Herpichet al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,233,760 of Feb. 8, 1966; Gollnick, 3,143,230 of Aug. 4, 1964; Appleman et al., 3,615,028 of Oct. 26, 1971; and others.

Safety Shield Description The tailgate and packer actuating mechanism does not in itself constitute part of the instant invention but is illustrative of a type of tailgate for a rear loading vehicle as equipped with a power actuated packer blade which creates the danger to operators during the movement of the packer blade 31 from its position C" (FIG. 3) to the intermediate position D adjacent the sill 27 (FIG. 4). It is during this portion of the travel of the lower edge 32 of the packer blade 31 when it moves across the loading opening 28 and past the heavy sill 27 that danger exists because an operator may thoughtlessly thrust his hand into this space in order to push refuse into the hopper 24 so that it will be swept forwardly and up into the vehicle 20.

In order to prevent injury to the hands or arms of operators who might thoughtlessly place their hands in the dangerous location adjacent the sill 27, the tailgate embodying the instant invention comprises a safety shield generally indicated by the reference number 45. In this embodiment of the invention the safety shield 45, illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, consists of a semiflexible, fairly heavy sheet of reinforced rubber or plastic material hanging as a curtain from a cross tube 46 (FIG. 5) which is pivotally mounted at its ends in a pair of levers 47 each of which is, in turn, pivotally mounted at its other end in one of a pair of ears 48 erected on the back side of the packer blade 31. The levers 47 are connected by tension members 49 to struts 50 erected on the back of the fall back shield 40. In FIG. 3 the tension member 49 is illustrated as a chain and in FIG. 4 the tension member indicated by the reference number 49a is illustrated as a solid link. Because this member remains in tension during the entire cycling of the mechanism, it can be fabricated in either fashion.

Because the packer blade 31 swings angularly in its slide blocks 35, the linkage comprising the lever 47 and tension members 49 connected to and pivoted in the ears 48 and struts 50, constitutes a motion multiplying mechanism for raising and lowering the safety shield 45 relative to the lower edge 32 of the packer blade 31 such that it does not interfere with rubbish previously accumulated in the hopper 24, but prevents an operator from putting his hand or arm into the dangerous location discussed above.

The linkage is so connected and of such size that when the packer blade 31 is in its traveling position, A (FIG. 2), the safety shield 45 merely hangs downwardly from the free ends of the levers 47 above the a degree permitted by the tension member 49. The change in relationship brought about by the linkage dc scribed above results in lowering the safety shield 45 downwardly behind the packer blade 31 to close off the loading opening 28 back of thepacker blade lower edge 32 as is shown in solid lines in FIG. 3.

'When the interior set of cylindes 41 then extends the rods 43 from the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4, the packer blade 31 moves downwardly and forwardly from position C to position D, with its lower edge 32 passing closely adjacent the sill 27 much as a guillotine blade. During this angular movement of the packer blade 31 relative to its slide blocks 34, the previously described linkage raises the lower edge of the safety shield 45 slightly,-as can be seen by comparing FIGS. 3 and 4. However, because of the weight of the safety shield 45, and the linkage previously described, the lower edge of the safety shield 45 still remains across the loading opening 28 and prevents an operator from inserting his hand or arm into the dangerous position between the lower. edge 32 of the packer blade 31 and the sill 27.. As the packer blade 31 continues on its excursion from position B to position E (FIG. 4) the safety shield 45 continues to hang vertically from the free ends of its control levers 47 following the packer blade 31 in'the remaining portions of the path of movement. I

Safety Shield Variations FIG. 6 fragmentarily illustrates a safety shield 45 comprising a heavy sheet of reinforced rubber or similar material having a main relatively rigid portion 51 and a comparatively more flexible portion 52 at its lower edge so that in movement adjacent the sill 27, the

lower edge 52 may flex slightly.

FIG. 7 shows a modified safety shield generally indicated by the reference number 45a again carried by the cross tube 46 and comprising a sheet of metal 51a as an upper portion with a relatively flexible rubber flap 52a forming its lower edge.

In FIG. 8 a third variation in construction is shown. In this case, the safety shield 4512' has less vertical di' mension and is hung, as by flexible chains or cables 53 from the cross tube 46. The safety shield 45b in this case also is illustrated as comprising a relatively stiff portion 51b and a flexible edge portion 52b. Container Dumping Because a safety shield embodying the invention oh- I structs the tailgate loading opening 28 only during the critical portions of the path of movement of the packer blade 31 and its lower edge 32, the safety shield 45 does not interfere with thedumping of heavy refuse containers such as those which are used at industrial and commerical locations for the accumulation of refuse during periods of time between visits by a refuse collecting vehicle.

An industrial or commerical refuse container of the type which is too massive to be emptied by operators, is generally indicated in FIG. 1 by the reference number 55. Such a refuse container 55 has side walls 56 and an open top 57 which may have a hinged cover (not shown). The container 55 usually has casters 58 in order that it may be moved from point to point or up to the rear of the refuse body 20. The container 55 has suitable horizontal trunnions 59 which are engageable with pivot plates 60 which are mounted at the rear of the tailgate 21 and which are spaced apart a sufficient distance to receive the trunnions 59 in their pivot slots 61. The container 55 also has a handle 62 or similar structure on the outside of each of its side walls 56 near the top 57.

In a tailgate mechanism of the general type herein described as equipped with a safety shield mechanism according to the invention, two heavy chains 63 are shackled at their upper ends to upwardly extending brackets 64 welded or otherwise rigidly mounted on the traveling fall back shield 40 inwardly of the linkage ears 50. The two chains 63 are of such length that they will reach from the bracket 64 downwardly and rearwardly and have hooks 65 on their lower ends which can be engaged with the handles 62 of the container 55 when the packer blade 31 is in position E as indicated in FIG. 1. The chains 63 are connected to each other by a cross chain 66 (FIG. 5) in order to prevent their inadvertently being moved outwardly and into the paths of movement of the linkages comprising the levers 47 and tension members 49. When the chains 63 are not being employed for the purpose of dumping containers, they are stored in a pocket 67 (FIG. 3) formed by side plates 68 and a cross plate 69 of the packer blade 31.

After the packer blade 31 has been cycled in position E. and the container 55 has been moved into position adjacent the rear of the hopper 21, the chains 63 are removed from the storage pocket 67 and the hooks 65 on their lower ends are engaged with the handles 62 on the container 55. Upon subsequent energization of the first power cylinders 38 to extend their rods 39 upwardly, moving the packer blade 31 from position E" to its closed position A (movement from FIG. 1 to FIG. 2), the traveling fall back shield 40 is moved upwardly to the limit of its travel in the guide tracks 36 and the container dumping chains 63 are placed in tension, swinging the .container 55 upwardly and over into the position shown in FIG. 2 to dump its contents into the hopper 24 behind the shield 45 and the packer blade 31.

During the next cycle of actuation of the packer blade 31, when it is moved rearwardly from position A to position B and then to position C, the weight of the container 55 causes it to swing downwardly and rearwardly under control of the chains 63 until it once again rests on the surface as shown in FIG. 1. The hooks 65 may then be disengaged from the handles 62 of the container 55 so that the container 55 may be moved away. If there is a subsequent container to be emptied, it is then put in position and the hooks 65 are engaged with its handle 62. If there is no further container to be emptied, the packer blade 31 is cycled to approximately position E" and the chains 63 are replaced in the storage pocket 67.

It is thus possible, in a tailgate embodying a safety shield according to the invention, to effectively dump massive containers by the use of the packer blade power mechanism without requiring the disablement of the safety features in order to keep open the rear of the tailgate. However, a safety shield embodying the invention still effectively closes the loading opening 28 during the critically dangerous portions of the movement of the packer blade lower edge 32 from its position C" through its position D.

Modified Safety Shield Construction FIGS. 9 and fragmentarily illustrate a modified safety shield construction and a modified form of actuating mechanism for a safety shield embodying the invention. In FIG. 9 a packer blade 70 substantially identical with the packer blade 31 of the earlier figures has a lower edge 71 and is actuated by power cylinders 72 and interior cylinders 73. Sequential energization of the cylinders 72 and 73 moves packer blade slide blocks 74 up and down guide tracks 75 and swings the packer blade 70 relatively to the blocks 74 in the same fashion as discussed above. A movable fall back shield 76 is secured to the upper ends of the slide blocks 74 and also moves in the guide tracks 75.

Each of a pair of bent levers 77 is mounted in an ear 78 erected on the back of the packer blade 70. The bent levers 77 are connected to struts 79 erected on the sliding fall back shield 76 by adjustable tension members 80 comprising length adjusting means. A cable 81 is shackled to the end of each of the bent levers 77 and a short safety shield 82 is hung from the cables 81.

As in the earlier described safety shield and operating linkage, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the safety shield 82is' lowered into protective position across the loading opening at the rear of the tail gate when the lower edge 71 of the packer blade 70 approaches its dangerous movement from position C" shown in solid lines in FIG. 9 to the dotted line position indicated by the letter D adjacent the sill 27 of the tail gate 21. Also as in the earlier described embodiment, the safety shield 82 is elevated above refuse accumulated in the tail gate hopper 24 during the backward movement of the packer blade 70 from its traveling position at the rear of the refuse body up to its uppermost position 3" (FIG. 9) and to position C.

Having described our invention, We claim:

1. In a tailgate for a rear loading refuse vehicle, said tailgate comprising laterally spaced, vertical side walls, a bottom hopper and a sill at the rear of said hopper extending across between said side walls and defining the lower side of a loading opening through which refuse is deposited into said hopper, the improvement comprising, in combination,

l. a generally rectangular packer blade extending across said tailgate,

2. means mounting said packer blade for movement of the lower edge thereof through a path including a. a first path portion extending backwardly above refuse in said hopper and b. a second path portion extending downwardly across the loading opening and in close proximity to said sill,

3. power means actuating said packer blade for moving the lower edge through such path,

4. a safety shield extending across said tailgate behind said packer blade, and

5. means comprising elements supported by said packer blade a. for moving said safety shield to close the loading opening prior to the movement of the lower edge of said packer blade into close proximity to said sill and b. for raising said shield above the level of refuse in said hopper during movement of the lower edge of said packer blade through the first path portion of such path. 7

2. In a tailgate according to claim 1 in which the means mounting the packer blade comprises slide means, on inclined guide track for said slide means extending upwardly toward the front of said tailgate, hinge means at the lower side of said slide means for mounting said packer blade for angular movement about a horizontal transverse axis and power means for moving said slide means and for swinging said packer blade relative to said slide means, the improvement comprising the combination of a generally vertically oriented shield and articulated linkage including elements carried by said packer blade for supporting said shield and for moving said shield into position for closing the loading opening into said tailgate prior to the movement of said packer blade across such opening.

3. A tailgate according to claim 2, in which the articulated linkage comprises a strut carried by the slide means, a lever pivotally mounted on the packer blade and a tension member connecting said strut to said lever for multiplying the movement thereof and in which the shield is dependingly supported by the lever, whereby the shield is moved downwardly across the loading opening in advance of the packer blade.

4. In a tailgate according to claim I slide means pivotally mounting the upper edge of said packer blade for reciprocal movement along apath inclined upwardly toward the front of said tailgate and for angular movement relative to said slide means,

first power means for reciprocating said slide means along said path,

second power means for swinging said packer blade relative to said slide means for moving the lower edge of said packer blade through the closed path,

- a safety shield,

articulated linkage for supporting said safety shield in a generally vertical position behind said packer blade, said linkage comprising levers mounted on the rear of said packer blade for supporting said safety shield, and link members pivotally connected to said slide means and to said levers for multiplying the movement of said levers and said safety shield. 5. A tailgate for a rear loading refuse vehicle comprising, in combination,

a bottom hopper having a rear sill defining the bottom edge of a loading opening, a packer blade,

power means for moving said packer blade through a path including a portion extending across the loading opening, past said sill and into said hopper,

a safety shield, and linkage including 1. levers on the back side of said packer blade for supporting said safety shield in generally vertical packer blade has moved beyond said sill. 

1. In a tailgate for a rear loading refuse vehicle, said tailgate comprising laterally spaced, vertical side walls, a bottom hopper and a sill at the rear of said hopper extending across between said side walls and defining the lower side of a loading opening through which refuse is deposited into said hopper, the improvement comprising, in combination,
 1. a generally rectangular packer blade extending across said tailgate,
 2. means mounting said packer blade for movement of the lower edge thereof through a path including a. a first path portion extending backwardly above refuse in said hopper and b. a second path portion extending downwardly across the loading opening and in close proximity to said sill,
 3. power means actuating said packer blade for moving the lower edge through such path,
 4. a safety shield extending across said tailgate behind said packer blade, and
 5. means comprising elements supported by said packer blade a. for moving said safety shield to close the loading opening prior to the movement of the lower edge of said packer blade into close proximity to said sill and b. for raising said shield above the level of refuse in said hopper during movement of the lower edge of said packer blade through the first path portion of such path.
 2. means mounting said packer blade for movement of the lower edge thereof through a path including a. a first path portion extending backwardly above refuse in said hopper and b. a second path portion extending downwardly across the loading opening and in close proximity to said sill,
 2. In a tailgate according to claim 1 in which the means mounting the packer blade comprises slide means, on inclined guide track for said slide means extending upwardly toward the front of said tailgate, hinge means at the lower side of said slide means for mounting said packer blade for angular movement about a horizontal transverse axis and power means for moving said slide means and for swinging said packer blade relative to said slide means, the improvement comprising the combination of a generally vertically oriented shield and articulated linkage including elements carried by said packer blade for supporting said shield and for moving said shield into position for closing the loading opening into said tailgate prior to the movement of said packer blade across such opening.
 2. means responsive to the movement of said packer blade toward and across the loading opening and past said sill for moving said safety shield to close the loading opening until said packer blade has moved beyond said sill.
 3. power means actuating said packer blade for moving the lower edge through such path,
 3. A tailgate according to claim 2, in which the articulated linkage comprises a strut carried by the slide means, a lever pivotally mounted on the packer blade and a tension member connecting said strut to said lever for multiplying the movement thereof and in which the shield is dependingly supported by the lever, whereby the shield is moved downwardly across the loading opening in advance of the packer blade.
 4. In a tailgate according to claim 1 slide means pivotally mounting the upper edge of said packer blade for reciprocal movement along a path inclined upwardly toward the front of said tailgate and for angular movement relative to said slide means, first power means for reciprocating said slide means along said path, second power means for swinging said packer blade relative to said slide means for mOving the lower edge of said packer blade through the closed path, a safety shield, articulated linkage for supporting said safety shield in a generally vertical position behind said packer blade, said linkage comprising levers mounted on the rear of said packer blade for supporting said safety shield, and link members pivotally connected to said slide means and to said levers for multiplying the movement of said levers and said safety shield.
 4. a safety shield extending across said tailgate behind said packer blade, and
 5. A tailgate for a rear loading refuse vehicle comprising, in combination, a bottom hopper having a rear sill defining the bottom edge of a loading opening, a packer blade, power means for moving said packer blade through a path including a portion extending across the loading opening, past said sill and into said hopper, a safety shield, and linkage including
 5. means comprising elements supported by said packer blade a. for moving said safety shield to close the loading opening prior to the movement of the lower edge of said packer blade into close proximity to said sill and b. for raising said shield above the level of refuse in said hopper during movement of the lower edge of said packer blade through the first path portion of such path. 